Take Action Daily - Disposable Disaster

"Convenience is the Enemy" - Dee-Lite

Living in this fast-paced, gotta-go society, we need the products we purchase to keep up with us. Enter disposable packaging and life just got better! Or did it? After all the cup-o-soups, trays of rice crackers with the crinkly non-recyclable plastics holders, coffee cups, and tetra packs that are recyclable at some places but not others and even then it depends, after they are all finished, that's it, the end. Sure you can use some for certain things or donate them to schools who can, as suggested in the previous post, but how far can that go? Is it very convenient? No. So most people will do what comes easiest, throw it away. Why don't manufacturer's create packaging that can be easily recycled, like a cardboard box or plastic (bio plastic of course) container? There is simply no excuse for using such items as non-recyclable plastic, Styrofoam, and disposable wax paper cups. None. A few weeks ago I wrote to a couple certain soy beverage companies whose milk I quite like to consume. I wrote a brief friendly letter inquiring as to why they do not use more conveniently recyclable packaging. One company did not reply at all, the other wrote with some not-so-well thought out excuses that she probably thought made sense. The woman responding told me that the milk came in the packages they did for two reasons:
1. Because milk is a vital source of nutrition it must be affordable for even low income families and therefore cannot have a deposit on the container. Sure, fair enough, but have you ever bought a two litre of soy? It costs $4. That's twice the cost of cow's milk. Secondly, I don't believe I have ever paid a deposit on a jug of dairy, be it a two litre or four, and I can easily toss it into my "containers" blue bin.
2. The nutrients enriching soy milk are sensitive to light rendering them fruitless if exposed for extended periods of time. This excuse is rather silly because the company has already solved this. If purchasing plain (yucky) soy milk, one has the option to buy a two litre or four in a white (not clear) plastic jug. But who likes plain soy milk - honestly. If a person is testing new waters or trying to convert from dairy to soy, chances are they will never change if they try plain soy milk first. Most people I have met who drink plain got there by starting with vanilla and mixing lesser and lesser parts with regular.
Once I kindly pointed out these two flaws in her reasoning, I never heard back again. Sigh. Well that was a battle lost, but the war is not over.
If possible, pay attention to what you buy, and more importantly, what it comes in. Is there an alternative available with better packaging? Are you really dead set on that particular item? If so (such as the case with my soy milk - yes I still buy it after all that for I have no option), why not write a quick email asking why they make what they do the way they do. Offer suggestions for possibly a better way. All products have written on them a contact number or email address. It's there for a reason - use it.